Even Food Writers Make Lame Thanksgivings

Slate caught my attention with this one:
“Why food writers secretly hate the November feast” by Los Angeles Times contributor Regina Schrambling. She laments that editors have to come up with a new tortured twist on turkey day, even though readers will just make the same old stuff they always make.

Schrambling writes:

“In a country that worships sickening candied yams under marshmallows, I know that almost no one will try something like sweet potatoes Anna—a gratin of thin slices layered with thyme, Aleppo pepper, and lots of butter.”

She then admits that she, herself, will be making the same old stuff she always makes.

Yeah, it’s true that readers don’t want something weird or too clever when it comes to the biggest food holiday of the year. Last year’s interactive Neoslacker Interactive Thanksgiving on CHOW was kind of a bomb. Lesson learned.

But I was surprised that Schrambling plays it safe at her own feast. As long as you have the turkey, potatoes, and stuffing covered, I think Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to make your relatives try stuff they wouldn’t usually eat that you happen to like. In my case, I’m making CHOW’s Chicory, Tangerine, and Pomegranate Salad, as well as an appetizer of puréed carrots with harissa and dukkah from the Spice cookbook by Ana Sortun. It’s part of my secret plot to add more colorful botanicals to what’s essentially a very brown meal. What’s the most unusual thing you’re making for Thanksgiving?